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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23244223">int. jen's office - day. there is not enough coffee.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyuni123/pseuds/Skyuni123'>Skyuni123</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT Crowd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Future Fic, Post-Canon, Queer Themes, Relationship Issues, Talking, Transphobia, graham linehan is a transphobe so he can go fuck himself!, terfs can fuck off too!, trans themes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:07:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23244223</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyuni123/pseuds/Skyuni123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>in which roy engages in some problematic thinking, and jen tries to help him out. moss is also there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(a massive fuck you to graham linehan! trans rights are human rights.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>OFC/Roy Trenneman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>int. jen's office - day. there is not enough coffee.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Douglas Reynolds had been convicted for tax fraud and sexual harassment in 2015, so Reynolds Industries was actually being run by someone who knew roughly what they were doing. The new owner, a woman, whose name none of them knew, moved them out of the basement and into a decent, although rather cramped, office on the 14th floor. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Douglas, upon being dragged away by the cops one early Tuesday morning had yelled, “Tax fraud? I don’t even know what tax <em> is,</em>” which was probably why he was being arrested, and then he’d disappeared out of their lives forever.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was strange to live in a Douglas-free world.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was less harassment, Jen found, and far less general shittiness. It was good.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Moss and Roy didn’t exactly… blossom… on the 14th floor, and neither did Richmond, but sometimes when she walked through the office and they didn’t notice her, they seemed almost… happy. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jen’s office looked out over the city. It wasn’t a particularly nice part of the city, but it was still the city, and it was better than the “Hang in There!” poster she’d had to stare at in the basement (because she’d been unable to take it off the wall). Some days the sun shone, her boys didn’t cause any trouble, and bizarrely, she felt content. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Roy knocked on the edge of her office door, one morning, instead of barging in like he usually did. He looked nervous, in the way that he usually only did when something had gone horribly wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You can come in…?” Jen said, because she’d not really been doing anything anyway, and she generally preferred it if she was told about things that went wrong, rather than having to stumble upon them, like when Moss and Roy had accidentally run afoul of some Satanists that one time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Roy sat. Awkwardly. Arms crossed, but his knee was jiggling in the way that it usually did when he was anxious and trying not to show it. He didn’t say anything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Roy, I have a dedicated list of clients who want to use my office, so say what’s on your mind.” Jen said, and put her pen down. “What did you do?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He still didn’t say anything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Out with it, Roy, or I will be forced to tell Moss about the time I found you with a-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I have a girlfriend.” Roy squeaked, but that obviously wasn’t everything. He was, Jen noticed, slowly turning purple, which would have been quite funny if she wasn’t getting mildly concerned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tell Moss what?” Moss said, as he stuck his head through Jen’s office door. “I heard you say my name.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That you did a wonderful job with that man from thirteen the other day and you should keep it up.” Jen said, through her teeth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Roy relaxed back into his seat a little. Whatever was vexing him was obviously something he didn’t want to bring up around Moss, and she supposed that was fair enough. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aw, thanks, Jen!” Moss grinned wildly at her, curls bouncing a little. “He really liked <em> Doctor Who </em>and we got into a conversation about Peter Capaldi’s-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Moss.” Jen said, because she couldn’t care about Doctor What if her life depended on it. “Roy and I are having a private chat. Please leave.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, alright, though I think that’s a bit rude.” Moss said, and walked out. He even shut the door behind him, which was nice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jen looked over at Roy and pursed her lips. “You have a girlfriend. Honestly, congratulations. What aren’t you telling me? You didn’t… I mean, Douglas didn’t buy you a literal human person again, did he?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That had been enough trouble - both ethically, and literally - the first time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, Jen, my girlfriend likes me for me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jen thoroughly doubted that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She’s just…” Roy trailed off and waved his hands about in a way that was presumably supposed to mean something but flagrantly didn’t.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She… really likes playing charades?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No she’s- got a-” Roy’s gesturing was somehow less helpful the second time around. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Roy, spit it out,” Jen replied, which was probably not the right choice of words considering how Roy blanched as she said them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She’s got a… dick.” He said, under his breath, like it was somehow shameful.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay.” Jen said. Now, admittedly, she’d thought… things… about trans people in the past. Probably not been the most welcoming, or the kindest. She didn’t like the person she’d been, but she’d learned. A lot of them had, but clearly, not all. “What’s your problem?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. “I just…” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>God, it was like getting blood out of a stone. “Roy. I’m not going to laugh at you.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She probably would laugh at him later, but not for his current problem. He’d definitely do something by the end of the day that would be worth making fun of.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I really like Sarah...”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, and?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I really like her and she’s got a dick and I don’t know if that makes me gay or not and she’s really hot but it still makes me feel weird when we’re doing stuff and I feel it but I’m kinda into it too and -” Roy shouted the last bit so loudly that Douglas could probably hear it in prison, “-I’m not gay!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fleetingly, Jen realised she could have missed Roy’s entire moral quandary if she’d just gone on lunch ten minutes earlier. She kneaded her forehead with her hand. “Roy-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Moss opened the office door and sticks his head around it. “Jen, is Roy coming out?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No.” Jen said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No!” Roy screeched. “I’ve known you my entire life. Don’t you think I would have mentioned it? Being a little bit gay?”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“I’m a little bit gay and I’ve never mentioned it.” Moss said, and then left again, closing the door behind him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jen stared at the closed door and wished for death, just a little bit. “Roy.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, Jen?” He replied, listening far more than he usually would. The whole thing must have been weighing on him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She fished for an analogy that would work for him. “Uh… people aren’t just parts, Roy.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The whole situation was way past her job description. “If you like Sarah, then be with her. If you like… ‘doing stuff’ with her, then do stuff with her. Figure out everything else later. Trans women are women too, regardless of the bits they have.” She’d never thought so much about Roy’s sex life before, and she thoroughly hoped she’d never have to do it again. “You might need to have a bit of a think about why you’re so uncomfortable with being gay though. It’s 2016, Roy, why do you care?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“...Yeah…” Roy looked down and fiddled with his hands. It was a little like he wanted to say something more, but she didn’t pry. It didn’t seem the time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Seriously, Roy. You like Sarah, and she likes you - God knows why, but she puts up with you so she’s got to be one hell of a woman. Trans women are women and none of us care if you’re bi, or whatever the thing you don’t want to tell me is.” Jen was getting a headache, because she cared, really - but there felt like there was surely someone else in the building that could tell Roy these things. “Moss doesn’t care, I don’t care, and Richmond transcends gender and presumably space/time too, so he’ll less than not care. Just enjoy the fact you’re in a relationship and <em> talk to her </em>if there’s anything you don’t want to do. It’d probably work better than talking to me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> “Yeah…” Roy said, and Jen hoped he’d taken in all she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She kneaded her head again, a faint headache throbbing behind her temples. “Roy, you need to update your thinking. Go back to work.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He stood, still looking a little bit unbalanced. He was clearly thinking over some things in his head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And get me a coffee.” Jen added, because her head was <em> hurting </em>, and it was entirely his fault. “You owe me.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Roy, to her surprise, did get her a coffee. When he placed it on her desk, she noticed some of the colour had come back to his face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thanks, Jen,” He muttered, and turned away, “Seriously.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jen went back to her work, faintly pleased at how well she’d handled the chat, despite the fact she didn’t work for HR or especially cared about Roy’s love life or anything. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her coffee was lukewarm, but it was still a coffee, so she supposed that Roy had at least tried.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>And, surprisingly enough, Sarah was cool, and oddly unnerdy for their workplace. She dressed well, knew exactly how to make it look like she was doing work when she was actually browsing Twitter, and bought her coffee from the same cart that Jen did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was far too cool for Roy. If Sarah hadn’t been taken, Jen would have asked her out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hit me up on the <a href="http://eph-em-era.tumblr.com"> tumblr </a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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